The Latest Simpsons Retcon Highlights How the Show Can Still Be Relevant 36 Seasons Later

The following contains spoilers for The Simpsons Season 36 Episode 4, ‘Shoddy Heat,’ now streaming on HuluThe Simpsons introduced a new ret-con to the animated universe that highlights one of the main reasons the series has managed to remain consistent and relevant for nearly forty seasons. Since the first season premiered in late 1987, The Simpsons was forced to rely on a sliding time scale that adjusts with each passing year. In the first episodes of The SimpsonsMid-30s Homer and Marge went to high school in the 1970s and Bart was born in 1980. In contrast, season 36’s “Shoddy Heat” recasts Abe Simpson as a single father in the 1980s, raising a young Homer after his mother Mona. match.

For fans who demand the show have a consistent, singular timeline, it can be a constantly contradictory affair. However, plots like Abe and Burns’ confrontation in “Shoddy Heat” may change the timeline of the show’s backstory, but work to remain consistent with the series’ internal emotional growth and logic. It’s an important element to how the show has remained so adaptable and relevant and highlights one of the The Simpsons‘great enduring forces.

The Simpsons’ Sliding Timescale Makes Canon Stories Complicated

The Simpsons Changed your timeline multiple times

The SimpsonsThe timeline is always in flux, as seen in season 36’s “Shoddy Heat” — but the episode’s commitment to the series’ overarching emotional throughlines makes it a palatable ret-con. The Simpsons has long existed on a sliding timescale, occurring perpetually in whatever year it is being aired. As teased in the season 36 premiere, “Bart’s Birthday”, the characters do not age, despite there being nearly four decades of the family’s exploits. This carries over to ‘Shoddy Heat,’ which moves Abe Simpson’s story forward a few decades.

In the show’s early seasons, Abe was a World War II veteran, but has now been reimagined as a single father in the 1980s. These two elements don’t work when viewed along a strict timeline, but The Simpsons‘The animated nature keeps the characters consistent even as the world around them changes. What “Shoddy Heat” does is maintain an internal character consistency that fits perfectly into the character timeline of the series. Although the series has never had Abe as a private investigator before, “Shoddy Heat” figures out how to fit his character.

The newest twist in Abe Simpson’s backstory fits well into the show’s lore

Grandpa’s personality and relationships seem consistent, even if his story isn’t

This ret-con seems consistent with the character’s emotional throughline and his relationship with his son, making it seem less intrusive than it would otherwise be. In the episode, Abe is portrayed as a single father, with young Homer still reeling from the disappearance of his mother Mona. While the specifics of Mona’s ’60s-style departure from Season 7’s “Mother Simpson” may not work in connection with the modern day, the emotional core of this turn and the impact it had on Abe and Homer feel consistent with the episodes previous ones.

It falls into the same kind of nebulous era referenced or explored in episodes like Season 6’s “Grandpa vs. Sexual Inadequacy,” Season 24’s “To Cur With Love,” and “Gone Abie Gone.” Each of these episodes highlights Abe’s failures as a single father and his efforts to make Homer’s life the best it can be. This is consistent with ‘Shoddy Heat’, which reveals that Abe sacrificed his integrity as an investigator in exchange for Homer being guaranteed a career for life. This is the key to doing The Simpsons‘timeline ret-cons seem consistent with the show’s history.

Why The Simpsons Benefits From a Fluid Timeline

The Simpsons Can change the time period and setting as long as the characters remain true

The Simpsons never had the strictest schedule, even beyond the sliding time scale. The episodic nature of the show, combined with the always flexible medium of animation, gave the show a certain adaptability that allows it to cover a variety of different subjects and genres. What keeps the show consistent is the sense of humor and heart that are at the center of The Simpsons since it debuted like shorts Tracey Ullman Show. As long as these elements are present and don’t actively change the characters’ backstories (like the series’ more frustrating ret-cons like the real Principal Skinner), then it doesn’t feel like it breaks the series’ loose universe.

Even though “Shoddy Heat” is a major ret-con that ignores the specific setting of the first few episodes, remains faithful to these elements and accurately reflects the relationship between Homer and his father. The show still strives for dark and silly humor in equal measure, but keeps the focus on Homer and Abe’s relationship. This is a big reason The Simpsons managed to last so long. Thanks to a fluid timeline that allows you to transform references and time periods while staying true to the characters and the heart of the series, The Simpsons figured out how to make the ret-cons not too distracting.